Patricia Lauber Frost '45

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1998

Author of Juvenile Science and Fiction

Patricia Lauber was an award-winning author of over eighty fiction and non-fiction books for children. Graduating from Wellesley with a degree in English, Lauber quickly developed a love for children’s literature while working for Scholastic Magazine.

After leaving Scholastic in 1954, Lauber began her career in freelance writing and published her first children’s books, including Clarence the TV Dog. She joined the publishing company Street and Smith in 1956 and was appointed the editor-in-chief of a new science magazine for high school students entitled Science World. From 1961 to 1967, she served as the chief editor in science and mathematics for Grolier’s The New Book of Knowledge, an encyclopedia for young people. These positions equipped Lauber with the knowledge and the passion to translate scientific concepts and processes into engaging accounts for children.

Since completing her work with Grolier, Lauber maintained her position as a freelance writer, publishing dozens of science books for children. She also edited ecology books for Garrard Publishing Company, worked as a consulting editor for Scientific American Illustrated Library, and served as a consultant to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Resources Center of the Smithsonian Institution. 

She received two American Book Award nominations, for Seeds: Pop, Stick, Glides in 1982 and for Journey to the Planets in 1983. Lauber’s Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens was named one of the Newbery Honor books in 1987. In 1992, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Commendation from the National Forum on Children’s Science Books.

Lauber died in 2010 at the age of 86.